91 Killed As Gujarat Bridge Collapses Week After Renovation: 10 Points

1. The suspension bridge — 200 km from Ahmedabad — collapsed at 6.42 this evening when around 500 people had congregated on it to perform some rituals in connection with the Chhath puja. Daytime videos from the spot over the weekend showed the bridge rocking dangerously as people walked across.

2. According to reports, around 100 people are still feared trapped in the waters of the Macchu river. Videos from the spot showed many struggling in the water, trying to reach the bank in darkness.Many of the dead are women and children, locals say. Seventy people have been rescued and admitted in hospital.

3. The rescue work will run late into night, with five teams of National Disaster Response Force or NDRF reaching the spot. The army, navy and air force have also been pressed into action. A medical team is also stationed at the spot. But the work is being hampered by the absence of light, officials said.

4. The cable bridge in Morbi — nearly 150 years old and a popular tourist spot — was closed for seven months for renovation. It was reopened to the public on October 26, the Gujarati New Year. There was a Rs 17 ticket to access the bridge. 

5. “Renovation happened last week. We are also shocked. We are looking into the matter… The government takes responsibility for this tragedy,” Brijesh Merja, Gujarat’s minister for Labour and Employment, told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Gujarat today, tweeted, “I am deeply saddened by the tragedy at Morbi. Talked to Gujarat Chief Minister Shri @Bhupendrapbjp  and other officials about this. Relief and rescue operations are going on in full swing and all necessary assistance is being provided to the affected”.

7. With the bridge collapse coming ahead of the assembly elections in the state, the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party have blamed the BJP for the tragedy. The Congress has demanded an investigation, claiming that the bridge did not get a clearance for reopening from the city’s civic body.

8. The focus right now needs to be on relief and rescue but a probe is required and accountability needs to be fixed, said AAP’s Atishi. “Gujarat has just recovered from the hooch tragedy in which over 100 died and now this. The Gujarat government has to answer,” she added.

9. “The bridge was given to Oreva company for operation and maintenance for 15 years. In March, it was closed for renovation,” the Chief Officer of Morbi Municipality, Sandeepsinh Zala, was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. “It was opened to the public after the completion of the renovation work. But the local municipality had not yet issued any fitness certificate (after the renovation work),” he said.

10. The state government will provide Rs 4 lakh to each family that has lost a loved one. Rs 50,000 will be given to each injured person, tweeted Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh has been announced from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the families of the victims.

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